Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has invited Turkish investors and businessmen to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in the dairy, cheese and livestock sectors.

He was talking to Finance Minister of Turkiye Mehmet SimSek on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.             

Muhammad Aurangzeb highlighted the strong historical ties between Pakistan and Turkiye, and emphasized the greater potential for enhanced trade and investment between the two countries.

He acknowledged that the current level of bilateral trade and investment remained below its potential.

The Minister also appreciated Turkish government's policy of supporting high-tech sectors to foster innovation and promote greater value addition.

Meanwhile, talking to Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb emphasized expanding digital access and promoting effective data sharing to accelerate financial inclusion efforts.

He shared the progress made on financial inclusion of Pakistani women, particularly through the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy with the support of international partners.

The Finance Minister underscored that ensuring women and girls' education, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and empowerment were among the top priorities of Pakistan.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb also met President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Jin Liqun in Washington and conveyed Pakistan's keenness to sustain the current momentum of engagement with the Bank.

He thanked the AIIB for its longstanding support for Pakistan's socio-economic development.

The Minister discussed the Bank's financing for ongoing and future development projects in Pakistan and expressed Pakistan's desire to proceed with the inaugural issuance of Panda Bond within the current calendar year.